I’ve just found out about this app!
I’m going to attempt a breakdown of what features the new app has from everything we know from this forum and the announcement.
A rich text editor - not markdown
A ‘binder’ on the left that lets you view and organise your documents, chapters and research files
items in the binder can be moved around manually
Create new sheets & chapters using the plus button in the binder (not clear that you can create new folders too but would seem to indicate you can)
Different icons for your project manuscript folder, chapters, sheets and research folders to make it easy to distinguish between them
The binder doubles as the outline structure - there is not separate outlining tool
Chapters, folders, Bin can be expanded and collapsed in the binder
Each document can have a title that is separate from the text within the document
The title has a character limit of at least 68 characters. This allows the title to also be used as a synopsis for the document
There is not separate place for a synopsis
Each section (document?) can be as large or small as needed.
Features targets, writing streaks and milestones
Can view research files from within the app - not clear what formats supported
You can output to Word, PDF, ePub, Markdown and other formats not yet announced.
There is a ‘Bin’ or ‘Trash’ folder where you can put documents (and chapters and folders?) that you no longer need.
The app appears to be project based - on book, one project. No one whole database to keep all your writing in.
Word count at the bottom of the editor
A formatting menu (Aa in the screenshot).
A quick and easy way to switch formatting - details of how this is done are not shared
Text can be formatted as a heading, bold, italic and can be in different colours. Indented quotes. First line paragraph indent, with the first line of the first paragraph not indented.
Different styles can be applied to the text in the editor
An inspector (i in the screenshot) that at least can keep a place for notes related to the document in the editor.
The ability to navigate to previous documents used (< > in the screenshots.
Desktop versions of the new app can export to Scrivener format
iCloud sync
Using TextKit under the hood, using a different text system from a user perspective in terms of how it works
Hey @KB, I was already pretty stoked about this new application as a long time user. This will actually help me keep the majority of my process under one roof. Normally I start a draft in IA Writer for a simple text editor, and I by default use a scene structure and then I move that into Scrivener for editing keeping the chapter/scene structure. Then I compile that draft into pages - moving the scrivener draft into a binder folder for previous drafts. I don’t generally copy and paste between drafts because I’m more likely to miss something that probably needs rewritten, so I move back to IA and rewrite the next draft using Scrivener as a copyholder. It takes forever but it works.
Super stoked to replace IA Writer with something from L&L as I don’t really like it that much and kind of don’t enjoy markup.
Original announcement stated Q1: 2024.
It’s a limited participation beta group and applications to contribute closed shortly afterwards for all versions, including Windows, once sufficient interest had been received.
The only people who might know more are L&L staff, and having been burnt with optimistic predictions with Scrivener iOS and Win, don’t expect them to say any more than we’ve already been told.
My only concern about the new L&L app is the potential for it to become wildly successful and pull focus away from Scrivener. I’ve used a couple of apps that were providing modest revenue for their developers, that were quickly kicked to the curb when the developer’s “small side-hustle” project unexpectedly caught fire and started generating 10x revenue of the “main” product.
I hope L&L will continue to develop Scrivener even in the face of overwhelming success.
I share your concern and hope that it is unjustified. Keith:
Well, the update for Sonoma was inevitable. Or what would have been the alternative. To let Scrivener die because there is a new macos?
As I said before, I am happy if L&L is doing well. And I would also be delighted if the new app is successful. But the problem is: you can’t do more and more with the same team. That’s not an accusation, just a logical conclusion.
Yes, my concern is that if Scrivener has had a lot of updates recently, and generates X revenue, and the new app comes out and generates 10X revenue, it may just be practical to focus on the part of the business that’s making the most money.
Other companies have dumped the low-earning product in favor of the high-earner that requires less support and development. I hope this doesn’t happen at L&L.
Why don’t we just take Keith at his word - Scrivener is here to stay.
It’s his company, I’m sure he knows better than any of us what resources he needs to enable Scrivener to continue to thrive while he also expands with new writing app.
No point in panicking about a theoretical scenario he has clearly stated will no occur.
You’re parsing KB’s statement a bit differently than I am. I took him to say that the new app is positioned as a third app, not as an immediate replacement for Scrivener. This is not the same as saying that Scrivener will continue to be developed until the end of time, regardless of other events.
I’m not panicking; I’m perfectly calm. Panicking would involve more caps and exclamation points.
I’m merely expressing my concern that in success, the more user-friendly app may naturally become a greater focus than Scrivener. This is how good software dies in the name of a better life for the developer.
Hopefully, by raising the question, we will prompt more transparency.
As of now, no-one knows how the unreleased software will sell. We will have to wait and see.
I take a different view. I think, having read right through the original post and the entirety of this thread, that KB’s having developed a new approach to the text engine for the new app, and the ability to sync through iCloud will contribute to the further development of Scrivener. There are so many people who want or need the power of Scrivener, so, as he says, when he gets round to working on Scrivener 4…
